Patrick’s drainage bill advances

“It’s time for the mayor to quit being stubborn and do the right thing,” Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, was saying this afternoon, shortly after his bill that would remove Houston churches, schools and non-profits from the new drainage fees Houston voters approved last fall made it out of the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

The mayor, of course, is Annise Parker; “the right thing,” in Patrick’s view, is for Parker to agree that churches, schools and non-profits should be exempt from the fee.

The language of Senate Bill 714 also restricts the city from transferring the reduction in drainage fees to home owners and business owners. Patrick accused the mayor of giving “confusing signals on the revenues the city would exempt. . . . I don’t think the mayor has a clear grip on this ordinance, how much money it would create, and she’s just being stubborn.”

Parker, dealing with a divided council on the issue, announced last week that she had changed her mind and would support providing exemptions for churches and schools, while still taxing hospitals, non-profits and schools applying for improvements on current facilities. Today, the Council voted to table a vote on the issue.

“This is simply not enough,” Patrick said. “We must not break with long-held principles for steering clear of imposing taxes on other governmental entities and non-profits,” he said in a statement. “In addition, the mayor must clarify what the tax rate will be for homes and businesses.”

“I oppose Sen. Patrick’s bill and I will continue to oppose Sen. Patrick’s bill,” Parker said. “There are some things in Sen. Patrick’s bill that are not allowable under current state law. If our Senate and House choose to put them into state law all I would ask is that it apply statewide. Right now, Sen. Patrick is targeting Houston. He’s putting special rules on a drainage fee that only apply to Houston. Well, that’s just not fair, and Sen. Patrick knows that’s just not fair.”

She added: “I’m not particularly exercised about what he’s trying to do except for the fact that he only wants it to apply to Houston. Things that target Houston punitively, I’m always going to defend the city.”

Parker was excited about a photo showing Houston Sens. John Whitmire, Rodney Ellis and Mario Gallegos Jr., all Democrats, standing with him and holding up one finger in support of his bill. “When’s the last time you saw a photo like that?” he said.

Another Houston Democrat, state Rep. Harold Dutton, is carrying companion legislation in the House. Sens. Mike Jackson, R-LaPorte, and Joan Huffman, R-Houston, also support Patrick’s bill.